Steam Big Picture mode beta coming in September

Valve has announced that it will launch the beta for its Big Picture mode update this September.

Speaking with GameTrailers TV, Valve's Greg Coomer revealed that Steam users will be able to start using their televisions to play Steam games next month.

"In early September you'll be able to hop into a beta, click a button, and see Steam reformatted for your TV and usable with a PC game controller, or a mouse and keyboard if you want to play that way," he said.

"There are some games are better made with controller input than others, so those will be the best experiences in the living room, but everything will be there so you don't have to give up your favorite stuff once you walk from the den to the living room."

Announced earlier this year, Big Picture mode will introduce a reformatted full-screen option for the Steam client that users can easily navigate with a controller on a television screen.

Steam this week has also launched a major community update that adds Game Hubs, new layouts for fan groups, a personal My Content page and a renovated news feed for friend activity.

Valve also recently released a new co-operative game mode for Team Fortress 2 called 'Mann vs Machine'. The mode pits a team of six players against waves of computer-controlled robots.